Five For Jesus

Awhile ago, a friend of mine shared the "Five For Jesus" concept with me. It is a way to get your kids into the habit of having a quiet time with the Lord. I wasn't sure how it would work with three very active little boys, but I suggested it the other day just to see what would happen. It was one of our off days from school, so we did it in the morning after breakfast. Each of the boys took a Bible story book and found a comfortable spot in the living room and I picked up my Bible, too. I set the timer for five minutes and we started to "read." I could hear Stephen reading under his breath and he did very well for a kindergartener! Timothy was sitting on the black La-z-boy telling himself the stories from his picture book. Christopher was ... well, he was all over the place for a bit, but then settled down with a Thomas the Tank Engine book. Oh well.

The timer went off after five minutes, and NO ONE MOVED! They kept reading! After a few more minutes I closed my Bible and quietly told them that the timer had gone off and they were allowed to go play. NO ONE MOVED! They LOVED this idea! Since then, Stephen has been the one to remind us every day that we need to do our Five For Jesus and he makes sure everyone has their books and then he sits down, flips to his bookmarked page, and starts reading before I even get the timer set!

Tonight was precious. Stephen and Timothy were on their separate chairs reading, Christopher was on my lap and I whispered his Bible story to him and Daddy was sitting in his chair reading his Bible. I can't tell you what a beautiful sight this was! Anyone who has ever been around us here at home knows that our house is not one of those calm and peaceful and quiet places of rest when everyone is awake and raring to go, but watching these boys stop everything to have their Five For Jesus warmed my heart!

If you have children at home, I encourage you to try this! If they have this (what's the best word??) practice - habit - routine started this early in life, it will be second nature to them to stop and have some quiet time with the Lord as they grow. I will lengthen the time as they get older, but for now, five minutes seems to work well. I'm so glad my friend shared this with me and I trust that God will help those roots of discipline to grow deep in my children's hearts! Have YOU had your Five for Jesus yet today?